Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-08-17
Troops at Cheyenne Ready to Inter.
view the Colorado Anarchist-A
Reported Battle and Ru.
mOred Defeat of the
Redskins. g.
The Supposed Illinois Bridge Burners
Under Arrest-A Fire In Con.
stantinOple Renders Thou.
sands Of People
( 5sz1=
Homeless.
AN IMPORTANT ORDER.

Over ed. .0O0, 900 Acres of Land Restored
to the Public Domain.
Of the Interior to-day revoked the order
pf withdrawal of indemnity lands for the
benefit of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad
Company, and in a long fetter to the Com
missioner OF the General Land Office di-
rects that they be restore to settlement
under the pre-emption and homestead laws.
h is stated that between 25, 100000 and
30. 600. 900 acres are involved in this de-
sision in the case of the Atlantic & Pacific
alone. The order also applies to all OF the
other railroads ramed in the Secretary's
fules of the 23d OF last month, except the
st. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, Hast
snes & Dakota, St. Paul & Pacific, St. Paul
4 Sioux City and the Winona & St. Peter.
These are
STILL UNDER CONS DERATIoN.
Secretary Lamar's letter, which is very
long. says he has considered the showing
made by the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad,
and reviews in detail the section of the act
granting the land. After this review he
says it is apparent from the granting clause
of said act that the grant was not one of
quantity out OF certain number OF Sec
tiOns in place; and, if not there, then it
gives the privilege of looking for a deficiency
in the restricted limits. Therefore, If the
company does not get the full amount of
sections within the primary limit and fails
to make up its losses in the secondary
limit, there is
NO VIOLATION OF CONTRACT
anywhere that I can see. but only the hap
pening OF a contingency plainly contem-
plated by the granting act. subject to
which the company made it's contract. 1t
is manifest that the act gave no special
authority or direction to the executive to
withdraw said lands, and when such with
drawal was made it was done by virtue OF
authority over such matters possessed by
the Secretary of the Interior and in the
exercise of his discretion 80 that they were
.permitted to be revoked. No law would be
'vfOfated, no contract broken, and tho a,na-
pany would be placed exactly in the posi-
ton in which law gave it, and deprived OF
no rights acquired hereunder, it would yet
have it's right to
SELECT INDEMNITY LANTs.
In so doing it would have no advantage
over any settler. as it has now in contra
vention of the policy of the Government in
a denial of the rights unquestionab'y con-
ferred upon settlers by the land laws OF the
country and apparently special lily protected
bv the provisions of the granting act under
consideration.
The secretary then answered at great
length some other points made by the
Railroad Company in its answer, which re-
uuire the Government to select other
granted lands as indemnity, and shows
that he letter OF the law has been strictly
complied with. After quoting at length
the original contract between the Govern
ment aud the railroad, he says: Any criti-
cism upon the alleged shortcomings OF the
Government with respect to this grant
come with an i'll grace from this company.
The people whom the Government repre-
sents has some righs under the grant as
well as the company. On full considera-
ton of the whole subject l conclude that
the
WITHDRAWAL FOR INDEMNITY PURPOSES
under the law WAS solely by virtue OF ex'
ecutive authority; that such revocation
would not be violation OF any law OF
equity, and that said lands having been SO
long withheld for the benefit OF the com
pany, the time has arrived when publc
policy and justice demand that the with
drawal should be revoked and some re-
gard had for the rights OF those seeking and
making homes on the public domain.